Land Before Time: Journey Through the Mists Retold
by Avatar Emerald
Summary: When Grandpa Longneck becomes fatally ill, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike set out toward the Valley of Mist to retrieve the Night Flower, the only cure for the sickness. With the help of two more allies, the group of friends will have to work together if they are going to make it through the treacherous swamp and avoid becoming someone's next meal.
1. Chapter 1: Back at School

**Land Before Time: Journey Through the Mists Retold**

**Back at School**

**The Gang is back!**

**When Grandpa Longneck becomes fatally ill, Littlefoot, Aylene, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike set out toward the Valley of Mist to retrieve the Night Flower, the only cure for the sickness. With the help of two more allies, the group of friends will have to work together if they are going to make it through the treacherous swamp and avoid becoming someone's next meal.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Land Before Time; I am merely exploring an alternate story.**

* * *

"In just a few more weeks and its Homecoming!" a teenaged girl with blonde hair said with excitement to her group of friends around the school lunch table.

"I know!" another girl replied happily. "You should see the dress I picked out! It's just the perfect shade of red!"

Aylene let out a small, unnoticeable sigh of irritation and rolled her eyes as she took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It had been three months since she started high school. And right now, she was sitting with a group of girls who were very nice and respected her as a person, which she greatly appreciated, but she wasn't particularly interested in what they were talking about.

Being a freshman in high school, there was one thing that she knew was inevitable: the first Homecoming week. It wasn't the idea of the week that irritated her; it was the drama that came with it.

She had seen it before, even before she entered high school. Mostly because the Middle and High Schools shared buildings and she saw older kids coming in and out of it. Also, her brother, Derek, would often tell the family about couples breaking up or making a big deal out of dating when Homecoming was approaching. On top of that, all the drama at the dance made Aylene loathe it even more. People breaking up, getting back together, or making a scene with how much they "love each other".

And by that definition, that usually meant girls clinging to guys or the couple kissing outside the dance room.

Aylene didn't have a problem with her parents kissing each other, they were at least married and she got used to them being playful with each other from time to time. But for some reason, seeing teenagers kissing made her cringe. Holding hands, she could tolerate, but kissing, forget it! She'd rather watch a Tyrannosaurus Rex devour its meal!

Upon thinking of that mighty dinosaur, Aylene gave a small smirk and clasped the green stone around her neck. If she weren't in school, she would totally use its power to open a portal and run into the world beyond hers: the world where she had true friends, where she found her strength and courage, where she and her brother rebuilt their bond, and where she and her friends became a legend.

The Land Before Time: the world of the dinosaurs

In that world, Aylene didn't have to hide behind a façade of being a quiet girl. She could just be herself: confident, brave, and adventurous. The beauty of it all was that the residence of that world embraced her and her traits. Well, most of her traits anyway. Her dietary needs still had made some dinosaurs warily. Still, being an omnivore in a land of herbivores was the least of her worries. There was also the danger of being attacked by predators.

However, it was those moments where Aylene could shine the most. It was because of those moments where she found out just how strong she could be.

While other kids battled acne, she battled vicious T-Rexes.

But right now, she was in an environment where she had to fit back into human society. While she didn't have a problem standing by her moral principles and helping others, she still remained a quiet, no attention-seeking girl. In a way, she almost felt detached from her schoolmates, which was something that always bugged her. She didn't want to feel like an outcast, but somehow that feeling always slammed back into her whenever she entered the school doors.

"And did you see the new boy today?" another girl suddenly spoke up, breaking Aylene's trance. "He's so cute!"

"Yeah," the blonde-haired girl nodded, "I hear he's from the capital city."

"Hey, there he is now."

Aylene looked up to where girl directed and saw the new boy walking in their direction toward one of the tables with a bunch of other boys in their grade. He was dressed in a dark blue T-shirt with jeans and black sneakers. He had short dark brown hair that was almost black and forest green eyes.

And around his neck was a blue stone.

As Aylene looked at the boy, she had to admit he did look rather handsome.

"Oh great," one of the girls groaned, "here comes Penny."

At the mention of that name, Aylene's face involuntarily tightened her face into a small scowl. Penny, also known as Penelope, was the most popular girl in school. However, her popularity was derived from her overpowering and assertive personality. Except for the teachers and other students who weren't afraid to stand firm, she could get others to do what she wanted because they didn't want to deal with her personality.

Aylene could only think of another person, or rather, a certain Triceratops with an assertive attitude. However, unlike Penny, the little Triceratops only behaved that way when she was either upset or under stress. She only commanded respect when times were dire and often showed skills of being a good leader. Penny on the other hand, demanded attention and submission all the time; something Aylene would not give her the satisfaction of. Which was one of the reasons why the two of them were at odds with each other, even if it wasn't on a daily basis.

Not to mention, Penny was known for flirting with the boys. Even if she had a boyfriend, she would always flirt with other guys that she considered to be her friends.

As much as Aylene wanted to give Penny the benefit of the doubt and not just label her as a bully like she did with a certain dinosaur named Hyp in the Land Before Time world, that was really hard to do. Especially since the popular girl was one of the very few who still called Aylene the "Dino Nerd", or by her last name of Carter, never by her first name. Aylene tried to tell herself that she doesn't know Penny's full story so she shouldn't judge her. However, that didn't stop Aylene from becoming defensive whenever she was around, or angry whenever she got her way.

Aylene face then turned to an irritated frown when she saw the scene. Just as she had suspected, Penny had approached the new boy and was starting to talk to him. Only the way she was approaching him, one could easily tell that she was trying to get his attention. Aylene just rolled her eyes: once again, another guy for the most popular girl in school to flirt over with. Probably trying to get this guy to be her date for the dance since she just broke up with her last boyfriend just one week ago.

"Man, why does Penny always get the cute guys?" one of the girls groaned.

"Because she's popular, that's why," another responded.

"Who cares about that," another shrugged. "We don't need dates to go to the dance. We'll just go together."

"Yeah, you're right," the blonde haired girl then turned to Aylene. "Hey, Aylene. Why don't you come with us?"

"I'm not really into dances." Aylene shrugged, finally speaking up.

"But it's your first homecoming, you have to come!" a girl with brown eyes insisted.

"No I don't." Aylene shook her head. "Besides, I've got other things I need to do."

"No offense, Aylene, but you're just wasting your high school days. You never go to any of the games, you barely talk to anyone, and you don't participate in school activities. Why are you always so distant from people?"

"I'm not distant from people, I just don't want to go to the dance, that's all."

"Okay, suit yourself."

Aylene just let out a deep sigh and went back to eating her lunch while the group of girls talked about their dresses and how they were going to get their hair done before the dance.

Once the day was over, Aylene knew exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

At the sound of the final bell, Aylene made her way to her locker, opened it, and pulled out her book bag. Because of all the hustle and bustle in the hallways of other students racing to get out of the building, she had to maneuver carefully when putting her schoolbooks inside her bag. When she managed to accomplish the task, she closed her locker and began to make her way toward the exit.

As she rounded the corner, she immediately slammed into something and fell backwards. She landed hard on the tile floor and groaned as mild pain shot through her hip. Although she had been hit harder than that before when she was in her special world, it still hurt.

"Ouch!" she clenched her teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" a voice said. "Are you okay?!"

Aylene looked up to see a hand stretched out toward her. She then looked up and saw the new boy looking at her with a concerned face.

"I was in a hurry and didn't see you," he said.

"No, it's my fault." Aylene said as she took his hand.

The dark-haired boy then helped Aylene to her feet.

"Thanks," the girl said, brushing some dirt off of her shirt.

"No problem," the boy replied, "you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. By the way, my name's Aylene, Aylene Carter."

"That's a nice name. Mine's Ken, Ken Anderson."

"Ken?"

"Well, my full name is actually Kenneth, but everyone calls me Ken."

"Well, that's a nice name all the same." Aylene simply shrugged.

Ken paused for a moment and glanced at the stone around the girl's neck. Aylene watched as his face changed into a subtle expression of surprise. She started to become suspicious and grabbed it, holding it tightly in her fist.

"That's a pretty necklace you have there." Ken simply said, his face returning to natural.

"Thanks," Aylene replied, "my grandma gave it to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to get going. I'm supposed to meet my brother. See ya!"

With that, Aylene powerwalked away from the situation and toward the school exit.

* * *

"Long day?" Derek asked as the two siblings walked home.

"Majorly." Aylene dully replied. "The girls just won't shut up about homecoming."

"Heh," the elder brother smirked, "I take it you're not a fan."

"What tipped you off?"

"Gee, I don't know: the sour puss look, the lack of tone your voice, or the way you look so bitter about the whole thing?"

"Very funny."

"Seriously, I don't get what the big deal is."

"I don't want to be a girly girl who clings onto a guy for every little thing. I can take care of myself; you've seen me do it. I don't want to be some damsel in distress."

"Trust me, you were never in any danger of being that. Besides, what's so bad about having someone there to help you? I've helped you before."

"That's different, you're my brother." Aylene groaned. "I'm not into puppy-dog love and you know that. And all the guys I get a crush on either turn out to be pushovers or they already have a girlfriend."

"Well, take it from someone who knows," Derek said, "not all boys will stay that way. Some of them will eventually grow up."

"You were never like that when you a freshman, though."

"Yeah, you're right. But that's mostly because of how mom and dad raised us. And thank goodness they did what they did, or else I would've gotten into a whole heap of trouble."

"Yeah." Aylene softly replied. "I'm just not interested in having a boyfriend right now."

"And that's perfectly fine." Derek shrugged. "Some times it's just best to have guys who are friends and nothing more. Same for guys to just have girls who are friends and nothing more.

"This coming from someone who has a girlfriend." Aylene grinned.

"True," Derek replied with a grin of his own, "but we also spend time with our other friends and not just each other. Besides, Rachel is an independent person on her own."

"I'm not saying she isn't. I like Rachel and I think she's good for you. At least you guys don't kiss in public."

"Hey, I'm saving that for when I decided to marry someone."

"Well, that's good to hear."

Both siblings shared a small laugh at the joke.

"Change of subject," Derek said, "are you going back to that world again today?"

"You bet." Aylene smirked. "I need a break from all of this. I'm leaving once I get my homework done. Do you want to come with me this time?"

"No thanks. I'm still recovering from the skateboarding incident, remember?"

"Oh, right. How's your wrist by the way?"

Derek held out his left arm, looking the blue cast encasing his wrist and the palm of his hand.

"Better," he said, "I'm just glad it was a minor fracture."

"I will say I thought you wiped out in style." Aylene smugly grinned

"Thanks a lot." Derek gave his sister a sarcastic expression.

The teenaged girl couldn't help but snicker at the comment while her brother gave a mild chuckle.

"Still," Aylene said, "it shouldn't be too bad. You can still come if you want."

"I know it's nothing major," Derek explained, "but I don't think it would be wise to go to a world where you have fight of Velociraptors on a daily basis with an injury that hinders your archery skills."

"We don't fight predators THAT often." Aylene raised an eyebrow. "The last few times you and I went back were actually very quiet."

"True, but I still don't want to risk it. But I'm not stopping you. Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"Good. Oh, and tell Grandpa and Grandma Longneck I said "hi"."

"You got it."

* * *

It was about six in the evening when Aylene finally finished her homework. After an incident where she went to the Land Before Time before finishing her homework resulted in her forgetting all about it and having to stay after school to get it done, she made great efforts to make most if not all of it was finished before she left.

"Hey, live and learn," she shrugged.

After she put her math homework away, Aylene got up from her desk and opened the bottom drawer of her dresser. She pulled out her trademark green two-piece swimsuit with black gym shorts and blue sandals. She spread them out on her bed and then pulled out her archery case, opened it, and took out her bow and quiver and placed them next to her swimsuit. She then took her gym bag and headed for the laundry room. She pulled out a beach towel from one of the cupboards, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her bag. She then went to the kitchen and pulled out some granola bars as well as the necessary spices she needed, being careful to make sure her mom or dad didn't catch her.

After that, she made her way to the bathroom and pulled out some bandages and sunscreen. Once she had all of the essential items assembled, she headed back to her room and changed into her swimsuit get up. When she was ready, she held out her Time Stone and commanded a portal to open.


	2. Chapter 2: Changes

**Changes**

"Whoa! Whoa! WHAUGH!"

The moment Aylene stepped through the portal; she soon got a terrible shock when she found herself teetering on the edge of a cliff. She flailed her arms frantically about, trying to regain her balance. For a moment, she feared that she was going to fall forward and down in to the terrain of the Mysterious Beyond below. Luckily, however, she managed to shift her momentum backwards and fell on her rear end.

The human girl grimaced in pain and took in several deep breaths. She then let out a huge exhale and let herself deflate.

"I hate it when that happens," she moaned. "Oh well, at least I'm alive."

"Aylene?" a voice called from a small gap in the wall behind the girl. "Is that you?"

Aylene turned her head around and smiled when she saw one of her best friends emerge from the cave. He was a young light brown Apatosaurus with reddish brown eyes. He was about the same height as the human girl if they were standing side by side.

"Hey, Littlefoot!"

The said dinosaur walked out from the cave and over to his friend.

"You okay, Aylene?" he asked. "I heard a scream."

"I'm fine." Aylene shrugged as she stood up. "It's just that I opened the portal to get here and I kind of botched the landing. I'm just glad I fell backwards instead of forwards. Still, I wish there was a way for me to know where I'm going to end up when I walk out of those rifts. Last time, Derek and I walked in to a river. Now that was a wake up call."

"Well, at least you guys can swim." Littlefoot replied.

"All the same, I just wish I knew how to use this Time Stone more. But ranting aside, how are things going?"

"It's alright. Nothing much exciting going on."

"Well, that's good news for me."

"Oh, stressful time?"

"Yeah, everyone at my school keeps going on about Homecoming and romantic couples are causing pointless drama."

"What's "Homecoming?"" the longneck asked.

Although he had learned by now that Aylene had a tendency to use long words, and he often asked what those words meant, he also learned to just go with it. However, he was curious as to why Aylene was so upset about this particular subject.

"It's a dance of sorts." Aylene rolled her eyes. "Basically you get a bunch of humans together and the girls fight over the guys."

"That sounds rather violent." Littlefoot frowned.

"No, it's just annoying." Aylene shrugged. "But I'm not going. Why waste my time pointlessly arguing when I can go on an adventure with great friends like you and the others?"

"When you put that way I can't really argue with you. Mostly because I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sorry," Aylene rubbed the back of her neck. "C'mon, lets just find the others."

The two friends were about to walk back through the small cave when they heard the sound of distant thundering footsteps mixed with deep groaning noises. They both turned around with curiosity and saw that down below on a small path to the Great Valley was a large herd of Apatosauruses. Since they two friends were so high up, and there were so many sauropods clumped together, they couldn't really make out how many were in the herd.

"Who are they?" Littlefoot asked.

"Who's who, Littlefoot?" a voice came from behind.

The longneck and human looked behind them and saw the rest of their friends emerge from the cave: Cera the Triceratops, Ducky the Saurolophus, Petrie the Pteranodon, and Spike the Stegosaurus.

"Hey, guys." Aylene smiled.

"Hey, Aylene!" Ducky smiled when she saw the human. "What are you guys looking at?"

"Over there." Littlefoot said. "Look."

The Gang all looked down as the herd of Apatosauruses below began to travel down the pass that would lead into the Great Valley.

"Hey," Ducky said, "they're longnecks, just like you, Littlefoot."

"Yeah," the young Apatosaurus nodded, "I wonder where they came from."

"Well, I say that we find out." Aylene winked. "C'mon!"

* * *

With Aylene riding on his back, Littlefoot raced down the path that would lead the two friends to a large waterfall pouring into a lake. It had been at least four months since the time when Thundering Falls was blocked up and a huge forest fire nearly wiped out the Valley's vegetation. Since that time, though, the Valley was fully healed and filled with plenty of food for the dinosaurs again.

When the two friends reached the end of the trail, they found two grey elder Apatosauruses who were washing their heads and long necks underneath the rushing water of the falls.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Littlefoot happily shouted, skidding to a stop.

The two adult longnecks turned around when they heard their grandson and smiled.

"Littlefoot," Grandma Longneck smiled, "Oh, hello Aylene."

"Hi Grandma and Grandpa Longneck." Aylene waved as she mounted off of Littlefoot. "It's good to see you all again."

"We're glad to see you, too, Aylene." Grandpa Longneck nodded. "But where's your brother."

"Derek? Oh, he couldn't make it this time. He wiped out on his skateboard this week and hurt his wrist."

"Oh, dear!" Grandma Longneck said with concern. "Is he alright?"

"Don't worry, he's fine. It was just a minor fracture. It's nothing serious but he didn't want to risk making it worse. He sends his greetings, though."

"Well, that's nice of him." Grandpa Longneck smiled. "Can you tell him that we return the greetings when you get back?"

"Absolutely." Aylene smirked and gave a salute.

"Oh," Littlefoot suddenly spoke up, "that reminds me, Grandma, Grandpa, we saw a herd of longnecks coming into the Valley."

"Yes," the male elder Apatosaurus nodded, "we saw them, too, Littlefoot."

The next thing that Littlefoot knew, his grandmother leaned her head down and began to lick him clean. Aylene giggled a little as she stepped aside, not wanting to get in the way.

"Grandma," Littlefoot groaned, "why are you washing my face? It's only going to get dirty again."

"Because we are going to greet our visitors, Littlefoot," the female elder longneck replied.

She the young Apatosaurus two more licks on the face before pulling. Littlefoot blinked in confusion for a moment before shaking his head.

"You want to look nice, don't you?" his grandmother asked.

"Well, I guess." Littlefoot shrugged. "But who are they? And where do they come from?"

"They're our cousins, Littlefoot." Grandpa Longneck explained. "They're a migrating herd."

"So they basically move around instead of living on one place all the time." Aylene said.

"That's right." Grandma Longneck nodded.

"I wouldn't like that." Littlefoot shook his head. "I like living in the Great Valley."

"Yes," the male elder Apatosaurus chuckled. "We do, too, Littlefoot. Now come. Let's go welcome our cousins."

"Okay!" Aylene nodded.

The human girl mounted onto her longneck friend as the small herd began to set out toward the meeting place.

"I didn't know you had cousins, Littlefoot." Aylene said.

"Neither did I," the young longneck replied.

"Well," Grandma Longneck said, "the leader of the herd is my cousin. The rest of herd is what you would call an extended family."

"So they are of they same species and travel together, and maybe distantly related?" Aylene asked.

"That's right."

Suddenly, the group heard a small "THUMP" from behind and immediately turned around. They all became concerned when they saw Grandpa Longneck was leaning against a wall of rock. He also looked a little dazed and disoriented.

"Grandpa!" Littlefoot exclaimed.

"Are you alright?!" the female Apatosaurus asked, concerned.

The male elder longneck blinked for a moment before slowly lifting himself off of the rock.

"Strange," he mumbled, "I suddenly felt so tired."

"Perhaps we better stay here." Grandma Longneck suggested.

"Oh, nonsense." Grandpa Longneck smiled reassuringly. "I feel better already."

There was a moment of silence as the two elder Apatosaurus looked at each other, one with great concern and the other trying to show that he was okay. Eventually, Grandpa Longneck cleared his throat and looked down at the two younger creatures.

"Littlefoot, Aylene," he said, "why don't you two lead the way."

"Alright!" Littlefoot smiled.

With Littlefoot and Aylene leading the way, the herd made its way across the Valley toward the spot where they were to meet the herd of Apatosaurus. As they walked however, Grandma Longneck continued to look at her husband with concern. When he noticed her expression, he gently turned to her and said.

"I'm fine, Grandma. Really."

* * *

A few minutes later, Littlefoot and Aylene stood next to the two elder Apatosauruses as the new herd of longnecks approached them. Their presence also attracted the attention of the rest of the Valley and pretty soon there was a huge gathering of the various herds such as Triceratopses, Iguanodons, Pteranodons, and Saurolophuses. Pretty soon, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike came running up to stand beside Littlefoot and Aylene as leader of the herd of longnecks approached Littlefoot's grandparents.

This longneck was an old female with light tannish skin and faded aquamarine eyes. Behind her right eye was a series of what appeared to be swollen skin, as if she had an injury there a long time ago that had healed and left a scar.

"Welcome to our Valley, Old One." Grandma Longneck bowed her head respectfully as the matriarch of the herd approached.

"Yes," the Old One said in a low, almost gravelly voice. "Now tell me, how is your climate?"

"Our climate? Well, it's fine."

"And your land, has it changed?"

"Why, no." Grandpa Longneck shook his head. "It hasn't."

"Good," the Old One.

For a moment, the two Great Valley longneck elders looked at each other with confusion while the other herds began to mutter curiously among themselves. The Old One then walked forward before stopping and gazing over the magnificent landscape before her. Only, she didn't seem to be enjoying it. If anything, she seemed rather dismal.

"Of course," she sighed, "who knows how long that will last."

"What's that stuffy old longneck mean by "who knows how long that will last"?" Cera asked, rather loudly and just a little bit rude.

"Cera!" Aylene harshly nudged her friend. "Show some respect, will you?!"

The little Triceratops simply shot an irritated look at her human friend before letting out a huff and walking away. The Old One, however, didn't seem to take offence at Cera's blatant remark and simply answered the question.

"My herd has roamed far and wide, and everywhere things are changing."

At that moment, there was a simultaneous gasp among the dinosaurs. Immediately after that, there was a wave of worried mutters. Parents then huddled close to their children, as if protecting them from an unknown force. Littlefoot and Aylene both looked at each other with bewilderment and concern. What kind of changes was the Old One talking about?

"Old One," Grandma Longneck asked calmly, "Are you saying changes will happen here, too?"

"I don't know," the tannish longneck solemnly replied, gazing back out over the Great Valley. "All I do know is that once, our land was just like yours. Then water fell from the sky for weeks on end. Our land grew wet and soggy. Strange creatures began to make their home on what was once dry land. Other creatures moved into the trees that were our source of food. The once green land we had migrated across for years had become…the Land of Mists."

For some reason, Aylene felt a shiver run down her spine when the Old One said those words. By the sound of that story, she got this strange sense that there was something sinister in that land this elder longneck was speaking of. In a way, it sounded like something of a scary story. Only it wasn't just a story; it was real.

"We had no choice but to leave," the Old One concluded.

"Does this mean that you and your herd will be staying with us, Old One?" Grandma Longneck asked, hiding her fear after hearing this news.

"We stay in no place very long," the leader of the Apatosaurus herd replied. "You and the other Great Valley longnecks may join us when we leave. After all, there is safety in numbers."


	3. Chapter 3: Surprise, Surprise

**Surprise, Surprise**

Shortly after the new herd of Apatosauruses moved on to find a nesting ground where they could rest, Littlefoot ran over to his grandfather with Aylene following close behind him.

"Grandpa," the little longneck asked, "we're not going to migrate, are we?"

"Of course not, Littlefoot." Grandpa Longneck replied, giving a reassuring smile. "The Great Valley is our home."

Relieved to hear that he and his family would remain in the Great Valley, Littlefoot let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, that's good." Aylene smiled. "Because where ever you go, I go with you."

"Really?" Littlefoot turned to his human friend.

"Yeah, remember the first promise we made? We'd always stay be each other's side no matter what."

Of course, that was their first promise.

After the night Sharptooth first attacked them, and Littlefoot's mother had died to save them, he and Aylene made a promise that they would stay by each other's side no matter what happened. And through all the trials and dangers they had faced, they still managed to keep that promise.

"I haven't forgotten that promise," the longneck smiled.

"Well," Ducky happily said as she ran over to Littlefoot and Aylene and hugged Littlefoot's foreleg, "I'm so glad that you guys aren't leaving. I am. I am. The Great Valley will never change. Oh, no, no, no, no."

Then Petrie swooped over and landed on Aylene's shoulder. The human girl flinched just a little when he hugged her face, mostly because she wasn't expecting him to do that.

"Me glad you guys not leaving, too," the Pteranodon said. "Me miss you whole bunch."

"We'd miss you, too, Petrie." Aylene gave a small giggle.

Spike then walked up to Littlefoot and began to lick his long neck. The young Apatosaurus couldn't help but laugh as the Stegosaurus's tongue tickled him. When he lowered his head a bit, Spike proceeded to give Littlefoot two more licks on the cheek.

"Does this mean you'd miss us, too, Spike?" Littlefoot asked.

The little spiketail simply replied with a smile and a small nod. Aylene knelt down to Spike's level and gently stroked his head. He returned the gesture by licking her cheek. She giggled a little and wiped some of the slobber off of her face with the back of her right hand.

Aylene then turned her attention over to Cera, who surprisingly was rather quiet.

"Um," the human girl said almost cautiously, "Cera, would you miss us?"

"Well…" the Triceratops hesitated, "I…"

Cera paused for a moment and looked at the ground with a frown on her face. Aylene smirked and raised an eyebrow. She knew exactly what that meant: Cera would miss them; she was just too shy to say it. And based on what the human girl knew about the threehorn, she was probably going to reply with some kind of evasive answer.

Which is exactly what happened.

"Oh!" Cera huffed before turning away. "Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't! I'm not telling!"

Instead of being insulted or even worried, Littlefoot and Aylene simply exchanged small grins. They knew Cera well enough to know when she was letting her pride get in the way of her true feelings. And usually when she acted this way, it usually meant she didn't want to get sentimental.

"Why are you not tell, Cera?" Ducky asked. "Is it a secret? Is it? Huh?"

"Well," Cera gave a little mischievous smile, "if you REALLY want to know, you have to catch me first!"

The Triceratops them bolted away and headed for the forest. Ducky, Petrie, and Spike immediately gave chase and Aylene began to follow them.

"C'mon, Littlefoot!" the human girl called back for her friend.

Littlefoot only hesitated for a moment before giving a smile and shaking his head. He then set out running after his friends. However, the moment they entered the forest, he lost sight of them. He could still hear them laughing and taunting to Cera that they would catch her.

As Littlefoot followed their voices to a place where there were some large old logs, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the bush on his left suddenly move. He turned his head sharply in that direction and saw that there was a pair of forest eyes looking straight back at him. Just seeing a bush with eyes made the longneck jump back in surprise.

"Who's there?!" Littlefoot said fearfully.

"Oh, sorry," a voice came from the bush.

The next thing Littlefoot knew; something stood up out of the bush. He drew in a sharp breath of air and his eyes grew wide when he saw that it was another human.

Only this one was a boy.

He wore a blue sleeveless with grey gym shorts and black sandals. Around his waist was a belt with a quiver full of arrows attached to it. On his back a green gym back and he carried a curious looking weapon. It reminded Littlefoot of a bow like Aylene had, but it was shaped differently. It looked almost like it was a bow attached to a long stick.

The human boy's dusky hair was short and slightly ruffled up. He was very tall and slightly muscular. His forest green eyes looked back at Littlefoot with a glint of honesty.

And around his neck was a blue stone.

"I didn't mean to scare you," the boy said in sincere voice, "I was just looking for my friend."

"Y-You're a human!" Littlefoot gasped in bewilderment.

"You're surprised," the human boy shook his head. "That's okay, I get that a lot. Anyway, my name's Ken. What's yours?"

"Littlefoot," the longneck replied.

"That's a nice name." Ken nodded. "So, do you live around here?"

"Yeah."

"Then do you think you can help me find my friend? I've been looking for her everywhere, but this place kind has gotten me turned around."

"Oh, sure," the longneck nodded. "And maybe my friends can help. I think they went this way. C'mon!"

* * *

Eventually, the others managed to catch up with Cera and corner her into a large bush. Once they had her trap, they started to playfully tickle torture her until she finally gave in.

"Alright, already!" she laughed. "I admit it, I would miss you and Littlefoot, Aylene!"

"Yeah, I know." Aylene grinned. "But you still have to tell Littlefoot."

"Then will you be happy?" the Triceratops smirked.

"Sure," the human said, "but first we gotta find him."

"Hey," Ducky suddenly piped up, "there he is now!"

Everyone turned in the direction the little swimmer was pointing and saw a young Apatosaurus walking through the woods just a few yards away from them, looking around at the trees in curiosity. Aylene stared at the long-necked dinosaur for a moment. It was an Apatosaurus like Littlefoot, but its skin color was different. This one had more of a light violet hide. It also seemed to be a little smaller than Littlefoot. Not to mention, its eyes were of a light blue color instead of reddish brown.

"I don't think that's Littlefoot." Aylene said. "Still, we should probably find out who it is. C'mon."

The others hesitated for a moment just as Aylene got up from her spot and lightly jogged over to the Apatosaurus.

The longneck sharply looked over when she heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching her. She stepped back when she saw a human girl approaching her. The moment she saw the creature, her eyes widened and she gasped in surprise.

Seeing the longneck's skittish reaction, Aylene stopped just a few feet away from her and gently smiled.

"It's okay," the human girl said, "we're friends. My name's Aylene. What's yours?"

"Ali," the longneck shyly replied in a voice that sounded like a little girl.

"That's a pretty name." Aylene complimented.

"See," Cera said to the others as the rest of the group approached the human girl, "she's not Littlefoot, she's a girl."

"Yep, yep," Ducky nodded, "she is a girl."

Seeing the others, Ali slightly back away and curled up slightly. She almost looked afraid to see so many different dinosaurs and human in one place.

"Did you come here with the herd of Apatosauruses?" Aylene gently asked.

"Yes," Ali replied in a small voice.

"Is everything okay?" the human asked as she started to notice that the female longneck was nervous.

"It's just…" the Apatosaurus looked away, "It's been a while since I've met new faces."

"I see," Aylene simply smiled. "It's okay. But maybe we should introduce ourselves."

"Good idea." Ducky happily stepped forward. "I'm Ducky, and this is my brother, Spike."

The swimmer motioned to the spiketail, who stepped forward and greeted Ali with a nod and a smile.

"He cannot talk like us." Ducky explained. "Oh, no. But he still says hello."

"And my name Petrie," the little Pteranodon said as he landed on Spike's back.

"And I'm Cera," the Triceratops nodded, "a threehorn, of course."

"Ali!" a voice suddenly shouted from the forest. "Ali, where are you?!"

At the sound of the voice, Ali looked up and a small smile streaked across her face, as if she recognized it and was happy to hear it. She turned her head in the direction the voice was coming from and replied:

"I'm over here!"

Seconds later, Littlefoot emerged from the thicket and began to run over to the others with another creature following him.

* * *

"Oh, there you are, Ali!" Ken exclaimed in relief as he raced toward his friend. "I've been looking all over for you! The Old One and your mother…!"

"KEN?!"

At the sound of his name, Ken stopped dead in his tracks and looked to see a surprise of sorts.

Standing as still as a statue with a shell-shocked look on her face was the same girl he bumped into earlier at school.

"Aylene?!" the boy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"What are YOU doing here?!" Aylene replied in a near flabbergasted tone.

"Wait," Littlefoot looked back and forth between the two humans, "you guys know each other?"

"I guess you could say that." Ken replied.

"But you…" Aylene started to stutter, "I…this world…HOW?!"

"I've got a Time Stone," the boy held up the blue stone around his neck, "just like you."

"YOU have a Time Stone?!" Aylene shrieked and grabbed the charm on her necklace. "But I thought…!"

"There was only one." Ken finished the girl's sentence for her. "I thought the same thing, too. That is until I saw that you at school today. But I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to run into you here."

"I wasn't expecting to run into you at all." Aylene replied, trying to calm herself down.

"Well, this is rather awkward," the human boy rubbed the back of his neck.

"You said it," the human girl nodded.

"Well, anyway," Ken cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Ali and I came just came with the herd of longnecks."

"You mean you're part of the migrating herd?" Ducky asked.

Ken then turned to the other dinosaur children.

"Oh, hey there." He nodded. "My name's Ken."

"We kind of gathered that." Cera replied. "My name's Cera."

"And I'm Ducky," the little swimmer waved before patting Spike's neck. "And this is my brother, Spike."

The young Stegosaurus simply nodded.

"And my name Petrie," the young Pteranodon said.

"It's nice to meet you all." Ken smiled.

Ali then moved from her spot and walked over to stand next to Ken. The human boy looked at his Apatosaurus friend and gently rubbed her neck.

"It's okay, Ali," he said, "you don't need to be shy."

"I'm sorry," Ali lowered her head, almost shamefully.

"What's the matter?" Littlefoot asked, concerned.

"Oh, Ali just gets nervous when meeting new faces." Ken explained. "And it's been a while since anyone new has come to the herd."

"Well, why don't we show you guys around the Valley?" Littlefoot suggested. "We can show you guys were we like to play and hang out."

"That sounds like a great idea." Ken nodded. "What do you say, Ali."

"Um, okay," the shy female longneck replied.

"Well, c'mon!" Cera motioned with her head. "Follow us!"

While the others immediately set out to explore the Valley, Littlefoot walked over to Aylene, who still looked shell-shocked.

"Aylene, are you okay?" the longneck asked.

It took a moment for Aylene to regain her composure before she could answer.

"I think so," she exhaled deeply. "But I gotta say, that was quite a shock."

"I was surprised to see another human in this world, too." Littlefoot replied. "I thought you were the only one who had a Time Stone."

"So did I." Aylene said as she looked down as the green stone around her neck. "But…how did Ken get one?"

"Well, we won't know unless we ask him."

"I guess you're right," the girl hesitated for a moment before turning to her friend. "Well, c'mon, let's catch up with the others."

As soon as Aylene leapt onto Littlefoot's back, the two of them raced through the forest to catch up with their friends.


	4. Chapter 4: Change Fate

**Change Fate**

The sun was just about at its setting point when the Gang and their new friends ended up at their favorite place: the watering hole. As time went on, Ali became less and less shy around the Great Valley children and was now enjoying their company. Now, she was laughing and splashing around in the water with them.

She did seem to have taken a particular shine to Littlefoot. Mostly because he was the same species that she was, so in that sense they were able to connect with each other a bit more than the others. Plus, he friendly and gentle nature made him easy for her to talk to.

Still, she did seem appreciate being with the others. She started to talk to Cera a little more and didn't mind it when Petrie or Ducky wanted to ride on her back.

Now, the female Apatosaurus was laughing running through the water with her new friends.

As for Aylene and Ken, they were sitting on a nearby rock, talking about their own experiences with their Time Stones.

"So your grandfather gave you your Time Stone." Aylene said.

"Yeah," Ken nodded, "It was on my fourteenth birthday last spring."

"Wait, you're fourteen?"

"Yeah."

"So am I! My birthday is in the summer."

"That's cool." Ken smiled. "Well, I guess we would be close to the same age if we're in the same grade."

"Yeah, I guess so." Aylene shrugged.

"What about you?" the human boy asked. "How did you get your Time Stone?"

"Oh, my grandma gave it to me." Aylene explained. "It was during one of our visits to her and my grandpa's house. I will admit, it was kind of shocking when I found out about its power."

"I hear ya." Ken replied. "The first time I came here, I had no clue what was going on. I'm just glad I landed in a group of herbivores."

"You and me, both. So, what was your first adventure like?"

"Well, it was interesting to say the least," the boy shrugged. "Ali's herd were just migrating as usual and then, FLASH, I was there."

"That's kind of the same thing with me." Aylene said. "Littlefoot and his family were searching for the Great Valley when I first met them. They invited me to join them."

"That's kind of how it happened for me, too." Ken said. "Some of the members of the herd were generous enough to let me join the group. Since Ali was the only child in the group, I mostly just hung around her as we traveled on. For a while though, she wouldn't talk to me. I think she was just shy."

"But you obviously became friends," the human girl pointed out. "So what happened?"

Ken hesitated for a moment before turning his head and gazing a small waterfall flowing down a rock wall just a few yards opposite of them, as if looking off into the distant past.

"There was a Deinonychus attack one night." Ken said in a low voice. "They tried to single out Ali since she was the youngest. I'm just glad I had my crossbow. I rushed to her side as fast as I could and managed to take out a few. And one of them happened to be the leader of the pack. I knew it was because the moment I shot him down, the others retreated. But, by golly, those things are fast. I was surprised I was able to make it through alive."

"I know where you're coming from." Aylene replied, pulling in her legs close to her body and hugging them. "On my first adventure, my friends and I defeated a giant T-Rex."

At that statement, Ken's eyes widened and looking over at Aylene with a surprised expression. The human girl glanced at him and became concerned about the way he was looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

"This T-Rex," the boy said, "his name wasn't Sharptooth by any chance, was it?"

"Yeah, it was Sharptooth." Aylene answered, suspicious.

"Oh!" Ken slapped his forehead. "Why didn't I see it before?! You guys are the ones who defeated Sharptooth!"

"Wait!" Aylene jolted in shock. "How do you know about that?!"

"Everyone knows about it!" Ken said. "And you defeated him on your first visit?! Whoa!"

"It's not that amazing," the human girl said awkwardly.

"Are you kidding me?! Sharptooth has stalked this land for a long time! I even seen him for myself!"

"You did?!"

"Yeah," Ken's voice then lowered to an almost disturbed tone, "it was during my third visit. We saw him take out a large herd of Iguanodons. I'm just glad we were on the other side of a large river."

The boy shuddered at the memory.

"I still have nightmares about it," he clenched.

"I'm…sorry to hear that." Aylene frowned.

"You shouldn't be sorry," Ken looked at the girl, "you and you're friends are the ones who stopped him."

"Yeah," Aylene glanced away, "but now we're on predator's most wanted list."

"What?"

"Since Sharptooth was the "Walking Terror" of the land, our defeat will be seen as a honor in for the predators," the girl bitterly explained.

For a moment, the two friends said nothing to each other. They had to take a minute to absorb the stories they had just exchanged. Plus, Ken didn't exactly know what to say at Aylene's statement. Mostly because he just didn't know what he could say that would make any difference.

Finally, Aylene let out a deep sigh and looked back at the teenaged boy.

"So, you and Ali came from the Land of Mists?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ken suddenly glanced away at that question.

Aylene noticed his action suddenly became hesitant. She had so many questions about where Ken and Ali had come from, but at the same time, she didn't want to accidently cross some line that she wasn't suppose to.

"Um," she bit her lip, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but…what was it like before?"

"It was a lot like this place." Ken replied, almost bitterly. "But that's in the past. Now it's just a soggy swampland invested with monstrous gators."

"Gators?" Aylene swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," Ken clenched his fists, "but I don't want to talk about it. Let's just drop the subject, okay?"

"Sure," the girl sheepishly nodded, "if you say so. What would you like to talk about?"

* * *

Eventually, the time had come for the group to head back to their respective nesting places. While Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike headed back to their families, Littlefoot, Aylene, Ali, and Ken walked back together toward Littlefoot's nesting place.

"Thanks for showing us around." Ali smiled. "You and your friends are really fun."

"Well, I'm glad you had fun." Littlefoot replied. "Maybe we can play again tomorrow."

"That sounds like fun," the female longneck said.

"Hey," Ken suddenly pointed, "look!"

Everyone turned in the direction the human boy was pointing and saw the herd of Apatosauruses that had just arrived all crowded around something. Curious as to what was happening, the group of four hastily made their way towards it and began to weave their way through the maze of large, sauropod feet. Already, they knew something was amiss since they could hear the adults muttering nervously among themselves.

When Littlefoot stepped out into the center of the circle, he got a horrible shock.

Grandpa Longneck was lying down on his side, breathing heavily and not moving a muscle. Standing beside him was Grandma Longneck, looking worried and crestfallen.

The little longneck immediately ran over to his grandparents. Aylene gasped in horror when she saw the situation and immediately rushed over to her friend.

"Grandma!" Littlefoot exclaimed. "What's going on?! What's wrong with Grandpa?!"

"You're grandpa is very ill, Littlefoot," the large female elder replied in a voice that tried to conceal her sadness.

"Ill?!" the young Apatosaurus looked up desperately at his grandmother. "But he'll get better, won't he?!"

"I don't know, Littlefoot," Grandma Longneck replied. "Some dinosaurs do and…some don't."

Tears began to well up in Littlefoot's eyes when he heard the news. He fought hard to hold them back, but the reality of what he was seeing in front of him made it almost impossible to do.

Suddenly, from behind him, the Old One approached the family.

"I've seen this sickness many times in my life," she calmly said. "No dinosaur ever recovers from it unless…"

The matriarch of the Apatosaurus herd hesitated.

"Unless what?!" Aylene asked, fearful for the fate of her best friend's grandfather.

"Unless they eat the golden petals of the Night Flower."

"The Night Flower?"

At the mention of this flower, the rest of the migrating herd began to mutter among themselves again. However, the tones of their voices were mixed with both hope and fear. They seemed to be hopeful about this flower's curing properties, but something didn't feel right when the hints of distress made themselves present.

"Sick dinosaurs eat them and are cured," the Old One continued to explain, "if they eat them in time."

"Grandma!" Littlefoot's voice spiked with hope. "We have to get the Night Flower for Grandpa!"

"Old One," Grandma Longneck eagerly asked, "where can I find the Night Flower?"

The matriarch didn't reply right away. Instead, she turned her head to the northeast and gazed at it for a moment. She then turned back to Grandma Longneck and said in a low voice:

"In the land we came from: the Land of Mists."

There was a simultaneous gasp from both Grandma Longneck and the migrating herd.

"The Land of Mists." Aylene's eyes narrowed.

"Cousins," the grey female Apatosaurus addressed the others, "who will take me to the Night Flower?"

The moment the request was spoken, the rest entire herd backed away fearfully; each of them saying that they were not going back to the Land of Mists, and saying that it was foolhardy to even attempt going there.

"The land has changed too much," the Old One warned. "Longnecks are not welcome there."

"But what about my Grandpa?!" Littlefoot tearfully shouted.

"We can't just do nothing!" Aylene strong protested to the matriarch. "We have to do something! If we all work together then we can…!"

Before Aylene could finish, the Old One lowered her head to the human girl's level and stared at her with hard eyes.

"It is too dangerous!" she forcefully said.

Aylene opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She eventually dropped her gaze, unable to bear looking into that longneck's stern face.

When the Old One saw Aylene's defeated expression, her face softened significantly. Then without speaking another word, she turned away and led her herd back to their resting ground.

Ali, concerned for her new friends, was about to run over to them when Ken stepped forward to block her path.

"C'mon Ali," he said, slightly pushing her away. "It's getting late."

"But Ken," Ali protested, "isn't there anyway we can help?"

Ken hesitated for a second. He glanced back at Aylene, who was trying to comfort Littlefoot. He then looked away with a crestfallen look.

"I'm sorry," the boy replied. "There's nothing we can do."

"But Ken…"

"Ali, I know what you're thinking and you might as well forget it. I'm not risking your life or their lives. We can't go back to that place and you know that. I'm sorry, but we just can't."

Ali hung her head low as the two friends walked back to their herd. Ken just looked down at his feet, silently apologizing to his friends.

* * *

"Littlefoot."

The young longneck turned around when he heard his grandfather weakly speak to him.

"Yes, grandpa!" he ran towards the old Apatosaurus.

"Littlefoot," Grandpa Longneck said in a shallow voice, "I want you to promise, that if anything happens to me…"

"But Grandpa," Littlefoot desperately replied, "nothing is going to happen! I'm going to take care of you!"

"You're still very young," the elder sadly continued. "And Grandma isn't as strong as she once was. If our Valley does change, I won't be here to protect you. Our cousins are strong, and the Old One is wise."

"Well, I don't think she's so smart." Littlefoot bitterly replied.

"Littlefoot," Grandpa Longneck looked at his grandson with weak eyes, "promise me that you and Grandma will go with them if the time comes."

"But Grandpa," Littlefoot's eyes filled with tears, "you're going to get better!"

"Promise me."

"I…I promise."

Tired and weak, Grandpa Longneck closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Finally, Littlefoot let his tears fall. His heart wrenched so hard in his chest that it hurt. First he lost his mother, and now he was going to lose his grandfather.

Seeing her friend heartbroken again, Aylene let her own tears fall. This was almost like the night when Littlefoot's mother died after she saved them from Sharptooth. She never wanted to see her long-necked friend hurt the same way again. But now…history was repeating itself.

"It's time to sleep, little ones." Grandma Longneck gently said.

"But I want to help you watch Grandpa!" Littlefoot tearfully replied.

"You can help me by getting some rest."

"But there has to be more we can do!" Aylene spoke up.

"Littlefoot, Aylene," the female elder sadly replied, "we must all except what the great circle of life hands us."

"No!" the human girl clenched.

"Please try to understand," Grandma Longneck shook her head and led them away from the male elder Apatosaurus, "there's nothing we can do. And try not to worry. The great circle of life brings us many good things, too. Sometimes…when we least expecting."

Despite the words efforts to be encouraging, that only brought more pain to the young ones. That only meant there wasn't anything they could do. All they could do was helplessly watch nature take its course.

Even after Littlefoot settled down to rest with Aylene leaning against his side, and even after his grandmother went back over to look over her husband and the sun had set behind the mountains, the pain of losing family kept hitting the young longneck in the face and stomach. He tried to get himself to fall asleep, but it was futile. Instead, he just continued to shed tears.

Aylene hugged herself tightly. She hated seeing her friend hurt like this. And to make it worse, it was going to be prolonged until Grandpa Longneck…

The human let out a heavy sigh and shut her eyes tightly, realizing that she was once again helpless to do anything about this.

Or was she?

There was still that Night Flower. If that was their only hope, and there was still time…

A sudden will of determination seemed to burst inside of Aylene like a firework. She clenched her fists and got up from her spot.

Feeling his friend move away, Littlefoot looked over and saw Aylene strapping her quiver around her waist and throwing her gym bag onto her back.

"Aylene," he said, "what are you doing?"

"I'm going to find the Night Flower," the girl replied, grabbing her bow. "If it's our only chance to save your grandfather, then I'm going to take it."

"But Aylene," Littlefoot stood up, "you heard what the Old One said: the Land of Mists is dangerous."

"And I heard you say that you didn't think she was so smart." Aylene raised an eyebrow.

Littlefoot's voice failed the moment his human friend said that.

"Besides," Aylene continued, "even if the Land of Mists is dangerous, that hasn't stopped us in the past. And if there's one thing this world has taught me, it's that we all have the power to change our fate. And if there's a chance to save Grandpa Longneck's fate, then I'm going to take it. Now, are you with me?"

Upon hearing such a rallying speech, Littlefoot's eyes narrowed into a strong determination and he walked over to his friend.

"Always," he said.

"Excellent," the human girl nodded. "Now c'mon. If we're going to go to this place, we're going to need help from someone who knows the territory, as well as the path that takes us there."

Without another moment of hesitation, Aylene leapt onto Littlefoot's back and the longneck quickly and silently ran off into the night.


	5. Chapter 5: Little Persuasion

**Little Persuasion**

Littlefoot and Aylene carefully crept past the sleeping herds of the Great Valley. Both of them felt the urgency of their mission and took great caution to not get caught. If they were, then they would most certainly not get another chance to try and get the Night Flower. They couldn't let that happen. This was their only chance and they couldn't waste it.

The two friends didn't dare utter a single word as they approached the slumbering migrating longnecks. Hardly daring to breathe, they slowly walked among the sauropods taking great care not to accidently wake any of them.

Things started to get a little more intense as they made their way around one of the larger Apatosauruses. When they walked into a position where they could see its face, they both froze when they realized that it was the Old One. Although she was asleep, her snoring and closed eyes being the evidence of that, the two friends became even more wary when passing her. She was defiantly the last dinosaur they wanted to get caught by at this point.

Once they got past the Old One, they were relieved to find they had arrived at the very place they wanted to be.

Just a few feet away from them were Ali and Ken sleeping beside Ali's mother. Ironically, Aylene saw that Ken was sleep up against Ali's side, almost exactly like how the human girl slept against Littlefoot's side. However, she didn't have time to think about this detail too much. There were more important things at hand.

Littlefoot and Aylene slowly approached the sleeping longneck and human and Aylene knelt down, gently shaking Ken's shoulder.

"Ken," she whispered, "wake up."

The human boy winced and groaned for a moment before opening his eyes. When Ali felt Ken move suddenly, that forced her to awake as well. They both looked over and were surprised to see Littlefoot and Aylene standing right in front of them.

"Aylene?" Ken said.

"Shh!" Aylene quickly shushed.

"What are guys doing here?" Ali asked in a hushed voice.

"We've got to find the Night Flower." Littlefoot replied in the same tone.

"What?!" Ken exclaimed.

"SHH!" Aylene shushed again. "Keep it down!"

"You guys can't be serious!" Ken said in a lower voice.

"C'mon," Littlefoot said, "let's find some place to talk."

"C'mon, Ken." Ali pleaded.

Ken glanced back and forth between his best friend and the two Great Valley residences. He then slowly stood up and gathered up his crossbow, quiver, and gym bag.

"Okay," he whispered, "but just to talk."

Feeling just slightly relieved, Littlefoot and Aylene quickly guided Ali and Ken away from the migrating herd to a safe place to talk. In about ten minutes, they came to a small trench deep in the forest. It was hidden behind large tree roots, making it hard to see anything inside it. They quickly gathered inside the trench and settled down for a moment.

"Can you guys tell us how to get the Land of Mists?" Aylene asked.

"No way, Aylene." Ken shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that place is too dangerous. You guys can't go there."

"But Ken," Littlefoot protested, "my grandpa is sick and the Night Flower is the only cure for him! We have to do something! Please, you have to help us!"

"I'm sorry, Littlefoot." Ken frowned. "I really am. But I can't do that. You guys have no idea what's there. You'll be sitting ducks if you go there."

"We've got to at least try!" Aylene said firmly.

"Aylene," Ken raised his voice, "you guys are just going to get yourselves killed! I can't let you guys go alone and that's final!"

"Dangerous situations had never stopped us before and they won't stop us now!" Aylene snapped. "I ain't no pushover and Littlefoot is not going to give up on saving his grandpa! We'll go to ends of the earth to get those flowers if we have to! And whether you help us or not, we're going!"

"Aylene…!"

"Ken, please!" Ali suddenly spoke up.

The moment the female Apatosaurus spoke, everyone's attention turned to her. The look on her face was one of sympathy and tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"We have to help them!" Ali continued. "Remember how we felt when my father died?! We can't just sit here and do nothing! I'm afraid to go back to that place, too, but we have to do something! Please, Ken! We have to help them! We just have to!"

When Ali had finished her speech, Ken's expression softened significantly. And if Aylene didn't know any better, she would've sworn that she saw a glint of guilt in his eyes.

Ken then looked back and forth between Littlefoot, Aylene, and Ali. He then turned away and grimaced. He inhaled deeply and held his breath for a few seconds before letting out a gruff exhale.

"Okay, fine," he said, "we'll show you the way."

"Thank you." Aylene nodded. "Now we just need to get the others."

"No." Ken said firmly.

"But Ken…!" Littlefoot began to protest.

"I'm willing to help you guys," Ken said as he shot his hand up to silence the longneck, "but I'm not willing to risk their lives, too. The Land of Mists is filled with monsters and they would just be several more people to keep track of. I know you two are going to go no matter what, and I will help you, but I won't put their lives at risk. The fewer of us that go, the better off we'll be."

"I don't know, Ken." Aylene narrowed her eyes.

"Look," the boy got up, "are we going to go or not? If we are, we have to leave now. We'll have to put some distance between us and the adults to prevent anyone from stopping us."

Aylene gave a suspicious glare at Ken. Just something about the way he was behaving felt off. Although he said would help Littlefoot and her find the Night Flower, he didn't seem too keen on the idea a few moments ago, and he still didn't seem too keen on it now. There was defiantly something about the Land of Mists he wasn't telling them about. Whatever it was, it was most likely the reason why he didn't want to go back in the first place, and it was probably the reason why he didn't want the rest of the Gang to come along either.

But what was it?

"Aylene?" Littlefoot asked when he saw her expression.

The human girl shook her head as the Apatosaurus' voice broke her trance.

"Sorry," she said. "Let's get going. But first, I need to do something."

After grabbing a nearby stick, Aylene knelt down and began to write a message in the dirt.

* * *

The next day, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike began searching the Valley for the rest of their friends.

They had been waiting for Littlefoot and Aylene down by the usual meeting place at Thundering Falls ever since morning came. Now sun was steadily drawing closer to the middle of the sky. They knew something was defiantly afoot when the longneck and human didn't show up. They were never this late.

After searching the Valley in all of the possible place that their friends could be, they regrouped at the small trench that they had designated as their little "clubhouse" during the time when Thundering Falls had been blocked up and they needed a secret meeting place to discuss what they could do to find more water.

"I could not find them anywhere." Ducky reported, discouraged.

"I no find them either." Petrie groaned.

"This isn't like them." Cera said suspiciously. "I bet they're just hiding from us so they could spend some time alone with Ali and Ken."

"They wouldn't do that, Cera." Ducky said. "You know they would talk to us first. They would."

"Besides," Petrie shrugged, "we haven't seen Ali and Ken either. Surely we would've found them by now."

Cera gave a pensive look. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but the swimmer and flyer had good points. She knew Littlefoot and Aylene wouldn't just go off and play on their own unless they had already talked with the rest of the Gang first. And if they had really gone off to play with Ali and Ken, they would've found them by now.

However, that still left the question of where they could've possibly gone.

As Cera glanced around, pondering the question, something in the dirt caught her attention.

"Hey, look!"

The Triceratops pointed with her paw at the scribbles in the ground. The Gang gathered around it and immediately became confused as to what it meant. The lines looked to precise and clear to just be haphazard markings or footprints. Some were straight, connecting, swirly, and some looked like circles with lines.

"What's this?" Petrie asked.

"You got me." Cera shrugged.

* * *

"I can't believe I forgot you guys can't read!" Aylene slapped her forehead.

"I was wondering what you were doing when you were making those lines with that stick." Littlefoot said, trying not to make his friend even more embarrassed.

Aylene simply let out a frustrated groan. She was so used to her friends having human-like qualities that it never dawned on her until now that they couldn't read. They probably didn't even know the concept of reading and writing either. The message Aylene left was suppose to tell Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike that they had gone to the Land of Mists for the Night Flower and would be back shortly.

Now the girl was greatly regretting writing it in the first place since they wouldn't understand it.

"You can worry about that later." Ken simply said. "We're almost to the canyon. It should take us to the waterfall. From there, we have to pass through a cave that will take us to the Land of Mists. We should arrive there a little bit past noon."

"Well, I'm glad you're the one with a good memory, Ken." Ali looked at the boy riding on her back. "I totally forgot the path we took."

"Don't worry about it," the teenaged boy nodded, "let's just keep going."

"Are you sure we're almost there?" Aylene asked. "We've been walking through this wasteland since before dawn."

"It's not the far now." Ken replied. "Just trust me."

The group of four continued to walk across the sandy plan toward the northeastern horizon. After sleeping in a small, secluded cave on the outskirts of the Great Valley, the two longnecks and two humans immediately set out toward the Land of Mists with Aylene riding on Littlefoot and Ken riding on Ali. With Ken being their pathfinder, they quickly got on the correct route and were heading toward their destination.

With every step they took, they were getting closer: closer to finding the Night Flower, closer to saving Grandpa Longneck, and closer to a potential danger lurking in the veil of the mists.


	6. Chapter 6: The Caverns

**The Caverns**

In just less than hour later, Littlefoot, Aylene, Ali, and Ken soon found themselves walking down a narrow pass. In just a few minutes, they came to stop on a small ledge and gazed at the spectacular sight before them.

Just in front of them was a large waterfall that looked like it was about a mile high. The crystal clear liquid flowed down the falls and splashed down into the rushing river below. Water droplets sprinkled all around, creating two rainbows.

However, while the others all stared in wonder and amazement at the scene, Ken narrowed his eyes and gave a deep exhale.

"This is it," Ken frowned, "we're almost there. We just need to pass through the caves."

"Are you okay, Ken?" Littlefoot asked, noticing the boy's sullen look.

"I'm fine." Ken replied. "Let's just get this over with."

Littlefoot and Aylene followed Ali and Ken down a small path that lead across the river and down a small path that led them behind the waterfall. When they got past the falling waters, they found themselves entering a large cavern. Enormous columns of rocks stretched all the way to the ceiling. Stalactites of all sizes jutted out from the roof of the cave and stalagmites spiked up from the ground. Except for the sunlight from the entrance, the cave was rather dark and dreary.

The group stopped for a moment and the two humans slipped off of longnecks.

"It's pretty dark in here." Aylene said.

"Use your Time Stone for light." Ken looked at the human girl. "Like this."

Aylene watched as Ken cupped his Time Stone in both of his hands and brought them to his mouth. He then blew some air into the enclosure of his fists. At the same moment, a small, light blue light began to shine in his hands. When Ken let his Time Stone hang freely around his neck again, Aylene was surprised to see that it was glowing brightly.

"Whoa!" she whispered.

"See?" Ken said. "Now you try."

Aylene simply nodded and clasped her Time Stone with both hands. She did exactly what Ken did and gently blew warm air between her hands. When she let her Stone go, she was happy to see that it was now glowing just as bright as Ken's.

"Thanks, Ken," the girl said.

"No problem," the boy nodded. "I learned that trick just a few weeks ago. Just be careful, it will only stay this way for a limited time."

"Thanks for tip. Now, how do we get through this cavern?"

"We need to proceed with caution."

"That's right." Ali nodded. "I do remember this place has a lot of deep spots in the water. And sometimes you just walk right into them without meaning to. They were so deep that my mother had to carry us through it."

"Just keep an eye our for dark water." Ken added. "That's the biggest indicator of deep water. And keep your wits about you. There's no telling what hocus pocus may lurk in these caverns."

"Okay, then." Littlefoot said. "I'm sure we'll be fine if we stick together."

"Right," the human boy nodded. "C'mon, this way."

Slowly and cautiously, the group continued on their journey through the caves. The only sounds that could be heard were their feet when they splashed through the shallow parts of the pools of water, droplets dripping from the stalactites, faint roars of waterfalls that were scattered throughout the cave, and a small howling sound that came from the wind.

With each step they took, both Ken and Ali were becoming more and more anxious. They constantly exchanged worried glances and were whispering back and forth to each other. As much as Littlefoot and Aylene strained to hear what they were saying, they couldn't make out a single word.

Eventually, the two of them trailed just a little ways back so they could talk to each other.

"Littlefoot," Aylene whispered, "they're not telling us something."

"I know," the longneck whispered back, "but we can't ask them directly. That would be rude."

"Still, we need to know what they're not telling us. I have feeling it's something important.

"It could be something private. Or something they don't want to talk about."

"Yeah, I have thought of that. But Ken was defensive about not coming. And now, he and Ali are acting really nervous."

"You do have a point, bit I don't want to offend them."

"Neither do I but…"

Aylene abruptly stopped talking when she noticed that Ken and Ali had stopped. She looked at them and saw that they were glancing around in different directions of the cavern.

"Ali, Ken, what's the matter?" Littlefoot asked.

"I don't remember this place." Ali replied.

"I don't recognize it either." Ken shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Aylene stepped forward.

"I'm sorry," Ken looked at Aylene, "but this place has me turned around."

"Well, then we should just try to find another way through the cave." Littlefoot suggested.

"We can't just go in a random direction," the human boy said. "We'll most likely get lost. And time is not on our side."

"But we just stand around here either." Ali said.

The female longneck then looked around and pointed with her paw at an opening with some sunlight spilling in.

"Why don't we try that way?" she said.

"It's worth a shot." Littlefoot shrugged.

Ken hesitated for a moment before letting out a deep exhale.

"Okay," he said, "but we have to be careful."

The group quickly made their way to the opening. However, the moment they past through it, they immediately came to a stop. The path before had stopped and dropped off down toward a pit of sharp stalagmites and a series of rivers flowing in between the columns.

"That's a long way down." Aylene stepped back.

Littlefoot looked at his human friend. He remembered Aylene was afraid of heights, and that the pit below them was a pretty long drop. So right now, he couldn't blame her for keeping her distance.

"I think we better go back." Littlefoot said.

At that moment, part of Littlefoot's statement echoed through the large cavern, saying: "go back". It repeated itself three times, each time getting softer and softer.

The two Apatosaurus both looked around in surprise when they heard it. The humans, on the other hand, didn't seem to take much notice of it.

"Who was that?" Ali asked, looking around nervously.

"That was an echo." Ken said.

"An echo?" Littlefoot questioned.

"It's when a sound bounces back at something." Aylene explained. "You mostly hear it in caves since they have a small enclosure. Just listen."

Aylene cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted: "ANYBODY THERE?!"

In an instant, the sounded bounced all over the walls of the cavern and back at the group. Each time it repeated, it grew more and more faint until it was silenced altogether.

"See?" the girl smiled. "An echo."

"Well," Ken shrugged, "now that we've had a little science lesson in sound waves, I suggest backtrack and find another route."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. All four froze as the tremors increased. They all then looked up and realized with horror that the earthquake was causing the stalactites on the ceiling to come loose.

"IT'S A CAVE-IN!" Ken shouted. "RUN!"

Aylene quickly jumped onto Littlefoot and Ken leapt onto Ali. The two Apatosauruses immediately set out running. No sooner did they start racing back toward the entrance of the cave that the stalactites came loose from the ceiling and began to shower down to the ground. The two dinosaurs had to dodge, leap, and sprint to avoid getting crushed or impaled by the pointed rocks.

To make matters worse, a small gap began to form between them and their way out. Using all of their strength, Littlefoot and Ali practically vaulted over it. However, as Littlefoot landed, the quaking earth caused his foot to slip out from under him, causing him to stumble.

The next thing Aylene knew, she flew off of Littlefoot and everything went black.

* * *

Ali sprinted toward the entrance as fast as her legs could carry her. When she and Ken were almost there, they noticed that the earthquake was slowly coming to a stop. They both turned around, expecting to see Littlefoot and Aylene right behind them.

But to their horror, there was no sign of them. Instead, there was a huge wall of fallen rocks blocking the path.

"LITTLEFOOT!" Ali cried.

"AYLENE!" Ken shouted.

The two of them quickly raced back toward the wall. Ken leapt off of Ali and began to hastily climb towards the top of the wreckage. Using all of his strength, he desperately tried to push the rocks away. At the bottom, Ali was doing all she could to push some boulders away. No matter how hard they pushed and shoved, the rocks refused to move.

"AYLENE!" Ken yelled, straining at the same time. "AYLENE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"It's no use, Ken!" Ali cried. "These rocks are too heavy for us!"

"We can't give up, Ali!" Ken replied.

"But we do need help!" the female longneck looked desperately at her friend. "We have to get the others!"

"Ali…!"

"Ken, please! It's their only chance!"

Ken looked back and forth between the wall of rocks and Ali. He didn't want to leave Aylene and Littlefoot behind, especially in a place like this. And what they could've been hurt by the cave-in? Not to mention, the boy still didn't want to put the others in danger. Once he and Ali brought them back, they would also have to take them to the Land of Mists with them.

Still, Ali was right. They needed help if they were going to get through this wall.

"Okay," the boy nodded, "but we have to hurry!"

Ken then carefully raced down the rocks and mounted back onto Ali.

"Don't worry guys!" Ali called out to Littlefoot and Aylene. "We'll be back!"

Without another moment of hesitation, Ali raced off toward the entrance of the cave. Before the left the cave completely, Ken looked back over his shoulder, praying that Aylene and Littlefoot would be okay until they came back with some help.

* * *

Aylene groaned and winced as she slowly came around. She wearily opened her eyes and struggled to sit up. Once she was able to brace herself with her arms, she shook her head, trying to shake away the dizziness.

"Oh, ow." she moaned.

She then looked over to see Littlefoot was just a few feet away from her. The moment she realized that he was unconscious, she quickly got up and ran over to him.

"Littlefoot!" she said worriedly, shaking his shoulder. "Littlefoot, are you okay?! Wake up!"

In just a few moments, the longneck began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up to see his friend kneeling down beside him with a concerned expression on her face.

"Aylene?" he groaned.

"Yeah, I'm here." Aylene said assuringly.

Littlefoot then slowly stood up. He and Aylene both looked around and saw a huge wall of rocks right in front of them. They realized with a horrible shock that it was blocking their way out.

And to make matters worse, Ali and Ken were nowhere to be seen.

"ALI!" Littlefoot shouted.

"KEN!" Aylene cried.

They both scrambled up the wreckage and began to desperately push away the rocks.

"KEN!" Aylene shouted. "ALI! ARE YOU GUYS THERE?!"

No one answered.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Littlefoot bit his lip.

"Me, too." Aylene said fearfully. "But we gotta try and get through. C'mon, help me move these rocks."


	7. Chapter 7: Archie

**Archie**

"Whoa!" Cera exclaimed. "That was quite an earthquake!"

"Me glad me flying when it happened." Petrie smirked.

"Oh, knock it off, Petrie," the Triceratops gave an unenthused glare. "C'mon, let's keep going."

After finding those scribbles in the dirt, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike decided to try their luck at finding Littlefoot and Aylene back at Littlefoot's nesting place. It seemed to be the most logical place to look after all, and Cera was still kind of inwardly kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner. Regardless, she hid her embarrassment and the group proceeded to make their way through the forest.

However, as they approached the area, they stopped when they heard the sound Grandma Longneck calling, and she sounded worried.

"Littlefoot! Aylene! Littlefoot, where are you?!"

The Gang of four looked through the bushes and saw the elder female longneck walking back toward the nesting place. The distress on her face was unmistakable.

The groups' attention was soon drawn to Grandpa Longneck, who was lying on the ground in a position that wasn't natural for a sleeping longneck. He looked so weak, almost dead. The only indication they had that he was still alive was his body slowly rising and falling with every breath. Even then, his breathing was very shaky.

"What's wrong with Grandpa Longneck?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know." Cera shook her head. "And I don't see Littlefoot or Aylene anywhere."

"What do you think is going on?" Petrie asked, nervous.

Cera was about to reply when another female voice called out from the opposite direction of Grandma Longneck.

"Ali! Ken! Ali! Ken! Where are you?!

In a few seconds, a young female Apatosaurus from the migrating herd came into view. Her face was painted with worry and distress. When she saw the elder Great Valley longneck, she hastily approached her.

"Oh, Mrs. Longneck," she asked, "have you seen my daughter?!"

"No, I'm afraid not." Grandma Longneck replied. "Have seen Littlefoot?"

"No." the younger female Apatosaurus shook her head. "I didn't know he was missing."

"I woke up this morning and he and Aylene were gone." Grandma Longneck explained.

"Ali and Ken were gone as well."

The two longnecks then looked at each other. The worry in the their faces intensified as they began to piece together what was going on.

"I'm afraid they've gone to find the Night Flower." Grandma Longneck said fearfully.

"But Ali and Ken know they can't go back to that place!" the younger longneck protested. "And Ken wouldn't lead Ali anyone into danger!"

"I think Littlefoot and Aylene must've talked them into it," the Great Valley Apatosaurus looked away. "Littlefoot was so worried about his grandpa, and Aylene was determined to save him. And Ali and Ken know the way to the Land of Mists. I'm sure they're all searching for the Night Flower. Oh, I'm very sorry about this."

As the two longnecks continued their conversation, the young dinosaurs all looked at each other with surprise and concern. After a while, Cera nodded her head in such a way that it was a clear indicator for them to move away from the place so they could talk.

"Back to the clubhouse," the Triceratops whispered.

The others nodded. Without a moment of hesitation, they quickly made their way to the meeting place.

Once they got there, Cera, Ducky, and Spike all sat down, Petrie perched himself on a root jutting out from the dirt wall, and they all began to discuss what they had just overheard.

"So Grandpa Longneck's sick." Cera said. "Figures Littlefoot and Aylene would try to find a way to help him."

"But why didn't they ask us to go with them?" Ducky questioned.

"Well, Ali did say Land of Mists was full of dangerous monsters." Petrie pointed out.

"Ugh!" Cera groaned. "What is it with those two in getting into trouble all the time?! You know what happens after later: WE have to go and save them!"

"But Cera," Ducky frowned "we don't know how to get to the Land of Mists. No, no, no."

"That right." Petrie said. "And me no think grown-ups are going to tell us."

Spike responded to the Petrie's statement with a nod and a grunt.

Cera was about to say something when the grass outside of their hiding spot began to rustle. At the same time, two voices began calling the names of the young dinosaurs.

"Cera! Ducky!"

"Petrie! Spike!"

The Gang of four looked over just in time to see Ali and Ken emerge from the tall grass. Ali had some strands of grass clinging to her body and two long pieces were dangling off of her head. Ken was covered with sweat, giving him a shiny appearance like he had just come out of a lake. His bangs were stuck to his forehead and his cloths were soaked. Both of them were covered in dirt and were staggering, winded and fatigued. They were also panting hard, like that had just run a marathon, which wasn't really far from the truth.

However, Littlefoot and Aylene were nowhere to be seen.

"Guys!" Ali gasped. "There you are!"

"Ken!" Ducky exclaimed. "Ali!"

"You back!" Petrie said.

"Where are Littlefoot and Aylene?!" Cera narrowed her eyes.

"That's just it!" Ken panted. "They need your help! They're trapped in a cave!"

"What?!" Petrie and Ducky shrieked.

"There was an earthquake and the cave fell down!" Ali franticly explained. "We managed to get out, but they're trapped on the other side! Please, you've got to come now!"

"Why should we?!" Cera snapped. "How do you we know you're telling the truth?!"

"Cera," Ken raised his voice, "we're not making this up! Littlefoot and Aylene are in serious trouble! You're their friend, aren't you?!"

"If I'm their friend, they why did they leave us behind?!" Cera gritted.

"That was my fault!" Ken harshly replied. "They were going to ask you to come, but I told them no! But it was for your own protection! Now please, they need your help!"

Cera glared at Ken for a moment. The others could only speculate what was going on in her mind at this point. She was obviously hurt about being left behind, and she didn't seem to happy that Ken just admitted that he didn't want her and the others to come with them, even if it was for their own protection.

However, her response to him was surprising.

"Okay, fine!" she grunted. "Let's just get going!"

Ken sharply nodded and ran back over to Ali. He leapt on his friend's back and the small group quickly made their way back to the path that would take them to the caves behind the waterfall.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the caverns, Littlefoot and Aylene franticly tried to dig their way through what seemed to be and endless wall of rocks. Despite all of their efforts, they could barely make any significant progress. The rocks were either too big to budge, tightly wedged between more boulders, or in such a position that it would risk another rockslide if they were moved.

Eventually, after about an hour of pushing and shoving, the longneck and human sat down to rest, leaning up against the boulders at the base of the wall. Both of them panted heavily and groaned as a dull pain began to rack their shoulders and backs.

"Ugh," Aylene wiped the sweat from her forehead, "it's no good, Littlefoot. All this does is hurt our shoulders."

"What do we do now?" Littlefoot asked. "We can't dig through this."

Aylene thought for a moment.

"There's got to be another way through the caves," she said pensively. "Although I'm not to keen on just wandering around without a sense of direction. We can easily get lost in here."

"Well," Littlefoot said, "we could try setting up a trail or something."

The moment the Apatosaurus said that, the gears in Aylene mind began to turn.

"Say," she looked at her friend, "you have strong sense of smell, right?"

"Yeah." Littlefoot nodded.

"Would you be able find something with my scent on it?"

"I guess I could. Why?"

Aylene stood up and pulled out one arrow. She then turned around and carefully wedged it into a firm part of the wall, be cautious not to cause a rockslide.

"If I leave this here," the girl explained, "could you use it as a way to lead us back here?"

Littlefoot wandered over to the arrow and sniffed it, getting its scent.

"I think I can do that." Littlefoot nodded with a small amount of confidence.

"Okay," Aylene said, "let's see if we can find another way out."

The two friends walked side-by-side through the dark caves. The only light they had were slits of sunlight through the ceiling and the steadily fading glow of Aylene's Time Stone. It was only a matter of time before it would extinguish completely, and there was no way of knowing if the girl would be able to light it again immediately, of if she would have to wait.

Fortunately, but the time its light had gone out, they had come across a section of the cavern where there were huge holes in the ceiling, allowing plenty of sunlight to shine through.

"Well, at least it's not so dark anymore." Littlefoot said, trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah," Aylene shivered, " but this place still gives me the creeps. Plus, we have no idea what lives here."

"Well, we haven't seen anything yet," the longneck pointed out.

"True. Let's just keep moving."

Littlefoot and Aylene continued to wander through the caverns. For a short while the only sounds they could hear were the wind softly blowing above the openings in the ceiling and their own footsteps.

That soon changed when they heard a third noise. It sounded like a soft slapping kind of noise. Whatever it was, it sounded close, and behind them.

With simultaneous gasps, Littlefoot and Aylene sharply turned around. There was nothing behind them, and the sound had stopped. They both exchanged wary looks before turning around and continuing on the way. The moment they turned their backs and walked away, the sound returned. They looked over their shoulders again, still nothing. However, when they turned around and walked a few paces, they both stopped for a moment. Before, the sound synchronized with their footsteps. This time, however, it gave a few more beats, even after they stopped.

"Okay," Aylene whisper, "I KNOW I heard something that time!"

Suddenly, something roughly bumped Littlefoot from behind. The longneck quickly lowered his head and looked underneath his body.

A strange face growled at him.

Startled, the longneck and human let out involuntarily screams and sprinted away. However, both of them were in such a panic that they didn't see a rock on the ground in front of them. As a result, Littlefoot, being ahead of Aylene, tripped over the rock and practically summersaulted onto his back. Before Aylene realized what had happened, she couldn't stop in time. She tripped over Littlefoot's head and fell over onto his belly, knocking the wind out of him.

"What are you doing in my cave?!" a gruff, angry voice boomed from behind them.

After getting her senses together, Aylene hastily got up off of Littlefoot and got ready to defend him from whatever threat was behind them. However, the moment she turned around and got a look of what scared them, she became more surprised than scared.

Approaching them was a large turtle-like creature, known as an Archelon. He had greyish tan skin and a dark brown shell. However, given the little light in the cave, it was all tinted with a bluish color.

He was scowling and growling at both Littlefoot and Aylene. However, Aylene couldn't help but smile. There was something he was missing that was making him not as threatening as he was trying to be.

"Wait a minute," the girl said, "you don't have any teeth."

The Archelon gave a weak growl before trailing off. He knew he was caught.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he mumbled. "I couldn't scare anybody if my life depended on it. But you can't blame a guy for trying. This cave's a dangerous place, you know?"

"Yeah, we kind of gathered that." Littlefoot said, rolling over onto his front.

"Oh, listen, I'm really sorry about that," the prehistoric said. "It's just that ever since some hostile intruders entered the cave, I've been rather on edge."

"Hostile intruders?" Aylene asked, nervous.

"Yeah, a giant bellydragger and a sharpbeak. They've been prowling around here since last night. I take it you haven't seen them."

"No." Littlefoot shook his head, getting to his feet. "We didn't even know they were here. You're the only other creature we've seen here."

"I see, maybe they've moved on." the Archelon mumbled before shaking his head. "Oh, where are my manners? We haven't been introduced; the name's Archie. Who are you two?"

"I'm Littlefoot," the Apatosaurus said. "And this is my friend, Aylene."

"Hmm," Archie glanced back and forth between the two. "I know you're a longneck," he turned to Aylene, "but what are you?"

"I'm a human." Aylene replied.

"A human, huh?" Archie looked mildly surprised. "Well, I'll be. I never thought I'd live to see one."

Aylene bashfully stepped back. She knew she should've been used to dinosaurs in this world being surprised, and maybe to a lesser extent, honored, to meet her, but she was still shy about it. She didn't really think there was anything special about meeting her. She was just a human girl after all.

"So tell me, Littlefoot and Aylene," Archie gave a friendly smile, "what are you two doing here all alone."

"Well, we're not alone." Littlefoot said. "We're with our friends Ali and Ken. I mean, if they're alright that is."

"You see," Aylene added, "there was a cave-in near the place where we entered here. Ali and Ken are on the other side of a large wall. C'mon, we'll show you."

Archie followed Littlefoot and Aylene back towards the wall of rocks. With Littlefoot tracking the scent of the arrow Aylene, left behind, they managed to find the place in just a few minutes.

"Ali and Ken are on the other side of this wall." Littlefoot explained, leaping up the rock piles.

"Who-e!" Archie exclaimed. "This was some cave-in. You two were lucky you weren't hurt. I hope your friends were as lucky."

"Do you think you can help us dig out?" Aylene graciously asked.

"Sure," Archie nodded. "I'll give it a try. Where there's a will there's a way, you know."

The Archelon crawled over to a large boulder near the base of the rock wall and began to pull on it with his large fore-flippers. However, when he strained to budge it, he winced in pain and released his grip on the rock.

"Or a pulled muscle," he groaned.

"Just don't kill yourself, okay?" Aylene giggled. "Well, we better get to work. Hopefully, we'll be able to get through now."


End file.
